Solstice
by Tiggs-A-Doodle
Summary: Captain Bright Light of Lamppost H0-32 has had a miserable week. There's been floods, Roon attacks, thunderstorms, power outages and, most recently, a disaster that leaves the Conduit in desperate need of repairs. Recruiting help from Post H0-31 might have been the best thing that could have happened.
1. Chapter 1

Lampost H0-32 has seen it's fair share of calamity. In fact, if Captain Bright Light was inclined to speak his mind he would say that it had seen _more_ than it's fair share. It was no secret among Lampies that this particular post happened to be remarkably close to an area of the underground sewage system that actively used as a Roon base, which explained most of the ridiculous peril that the small Unit seemed to always find themselves in, but it seemed somehow deeply unfair that he, barely out of his academy Blues, had been thrust into a position of command in one of the most volatile areas in the entire western sector.

Perhaps the Brigadier was deliberately trying to force him into a total meltdown, he mused darkly to himself, striding down a corridor that was bathed in the red of emergency lighting and ringing with the wails of the klaxon for the fourth time in as many sound was beginning to plague his dreams.  
Arriving at the end of the corridor, he stopped to punch in the passcode for central command (with what may have been more force than strictly necessary) and tried to beat down his rising panic.

As the doors slid open with a pneumatic hiss, he tried to step forwards with some semblance of authority and cleared his throat. Then, realizing that no one would hear the tiny sound over the din, cupped a hand to his mouth and called up to Contact, up on the control platform jabbing at the console and looking as exasperated as he felt.  
"Contact! _Contact!"_

She looked around with a jolt, but before he could continue she grimaced and slapped her hands over her pointed ears, shaking her head quickly before waving at the ladder.  
With a put-upon sigh, Bright Light made for the ladder and began to haul himself up. By the time he reached the last rung, he had developed a headache that seemed to intensify in time to the siren increasing in pitch, and several worst case scenarios to explain the situation. The Roons had infiltrated the lampost, maybe? It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, after all. Maybe it was the rust alert again? Nuclear war had broken out. _Zombies_.

He scolded himself as he pulled himself onto the platform and moved to stand beside Contact at the console. He needed to stop letting Charge pick the films on Movie Night.

Forcing the image of the undead clamoring to eat his flesh out of his mind, he leaned in to speak to his Computer Operator and Second in Command.  
"What's going on here?"  
She halted her furious button pushing and squinted at him, cupping her ear.  
" _What?"_  
" _I said what in the name of Edison is-_ oh".  
As he spoke, the hideous wail of the klaxon died mid-crescendo, leaving behind a stark silence and a migraine. Contact groaned and threw herself into the Operator's chair, sagging with relief. Bright Light let himself follow suit, slumping onto the stool beside her and reaching up to pull off his cap, rubbing his thumb and forefinger over the bridge of his nose with his eyes firmly closed. Beside him, he heard a weary sigh and a sullen mutter of "I need a holiday".

He couldn't agree more.

Leaning forwards to reach the Comm took quite a bit of willpower on his part, but the thought that the lampost could be in danger proved to be an excellent motivator.

"Bright Light to all Lampies, Bright Light to all Lampies. Please proceed to Central Command immediately."

He had barely released the button when the sound of the lift doors swooshing open had both of them instantly on their feet, startled and alert. Looking at each other, they shared a nervous laugh at how obviously frayed their nerves were. It had only been a couple of nights since the last Roon attack, and the recent onslaught of minor disasters hadn't left them with much time to collect themselves. Maybe when things got quieter he _would_ request some holiday time.

Livewire's voice spurred Contact back into motion and a smile curved her lips as she made for the ladder.

"Hello? Where is everyone? _Helloooo-_ Contact!" Her feet had barely hit the floor before a small pink bundle barreled into her, shortly followed by an orange blur that yipped at her from her ankles. Laughing, she scooped up her niece and Dustywugg in each arm and carried them with her to the assembly area, dumping them with great ceremony into the plastic chairs that lined the wall.

Dropping into a chair of her own and allowing dustywugg to settle into her lap, she called back up to the Captain, beckoning him down. "The others will be here soon, Captain. I took care of the alarm, no need to worry!" In truth, she knew he wasn't worried about the alarm starting up again (although it did do a number on their sensitive ears). She could tell that he had just spaced out for a moment, staring at nothing in particular on the far wall. He snapped out of it when she called and shook himself, starting his own descent.

She was a little worried about him, really. He was a good leader and a good man, and his academy training had made him into an excellent tactician, but his anxiety often overcame him. She suspected he had never had many friends when he was younger, and even now he was more inclined to sequester himself in his office in his downtime rather than spend time in the mess hall or the rec room. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to be friendly with them, as he was perfectly friendly when they were all on duty and would join them in discussing the values of LED lamps, or the upcoming Solstice, or in poking fun at Charge. He had the kind of dry, sarcastic wit that she could appreciate. She suspected it was more that he didn't really know how to socialize with them outside of working hours, which was largely the reason why she had suggested Movie Nights, hoping they would help him relax a little. Anyway, the point was, that while he was happy to talk about menial things with them, he didn't really have a close enough relationship with anyone in the lamp to be able to unload some of his obvious stress, and it was starting to take a toll.  
Shaking her head, she turned back to Livewire and concentrated on keeping Dustywugg still while they waited for the others. Perhaps after this, she would try to talk to him about it.

As he reached the ground, Bright Light berated himself for being so unprofessional.  
 _'pull yourself together, Captain. This could be an emergency, you fool'_  
the voice sounded suspiciously like the Brigadier.

It only took a few rounds of pacing the length of the room before the others arrived, Spotlight and Burnout hurried out of the elevator at almost the exact moment that Charge dropped out of the ceiling with a yell and a painful sounding crash, tangled in what looked like several sheets and a skipping rope.

It took several deep breaths before Bright Light felt able to move from the spot near the middle of the room, where he had paused mid-pace at the first sound of chaos that heralded Charge's arrival.  
"Oh Charge, _really..._ " he managed, turning on his heel and marching towards the struggling bundle of cloth to try to help him out of his latest mess. With Burnout's assistance, the clumsiest of their number was disentangled and pulled to his feet, smiling sheepishly and flushing a dark navy colour. With a sigh of (slightly fond, although he would never admit it) exasperation, the leader of the lampies turned to face the gathering.

Clearing his throat, Bright Light tried not to stutter as he addressed his colleagues.  
"W-well as you can see, um...as you all, er, heard, we apparently have another emergency on our hands."

His panic kicked up a notch or so at the inaudible groan that went through the group before him, all slouched shoulders and weary expressions.  
"Now, n-now, I um...I know that we've had a very, uh, _trying_ week s-so far, but...bu-but I'm sure if we just tough it out then...eh, I-I mean we'll-"

"The Captain's right."

He had never been so glad to be interrupted, and he shot a grateful look at Contact as she continued.

"Whatever we're facing now can't be any worse than the Roons, or the blown fuse, or the electrical storm we had the other night. We've had a busy week, but we've made it through every other challenge, and this won't be any different. Burnout, There's nothing wrong with the lamp head as far as I can tell, and my computers haven't picked up any breaches in the post. The only other reason there could be an alarm would be-"  
"-if there was somethin' wrong with the conduit, aye."

"Oh well thank goodness for that!" Spotlight said bluntly. "I thought it might have been more of those dreadful reptiles. You know I was _just_ about to go off to bed before that _blasted alarm_ sounded!"

"Yeah, well, it looks like it's going to be another long night. _Perfect_. I'm being run into the ground, I can't continue like this!" Groused Charge with a scowl, glaring hard at the pile of sheets on the ground by his boots, and for once Bright Light wholeheartedly agreed with him. Despite how often he complained about the lazy attitude of the man, for the past week Charge had indeed been making himself useful and working just as hard as the rest of them. The dark bags under his eyes were a testament to that, and it looked wrong somehow to see someone who was usually so lively looking so obviously exhausted.

"Yes, yes I quite agree." Bright Light murmured, coming to a decision.  
"Alright" he said, slightly louder, "Charge, Spotlight, Livewire...uh, Dustywugg, you're dismissed. Head back to your quarters and get some rest. I don't see the point in all of us being tired come Lights On."

The look of surprise on Charge's face was almost comical, but it was swiftly replaced with gratitude, and he wasted no time in throwing a sloppy salute and heading for the elevator with haste, as though worried Bright Light would change his mind and call him back if he didn't get out fast enough.  
"Come on Livewire!" He called over his shoulder, holding the elevator door open with one hand as he stepped inside. "Little 'uns need sleep or they get grouchy."  
Livewire looked grouchy alright, glaring at the smirking workman and sticking her tongue out before muttering "I'm not _that_ little." Nevertheless, she hugged Contact around the waist and gathered Dustywugg into her arms, hurrying after Charge.

There was only really room for two at a time in the elevator, so Spotlight waved them off as the doors slid closed, before turning to pin Bright Light with her infamous 'look', peering over the rim of her glasses at him as he felt himself getting nervous. Had he done something wrong...?

He felt himself begin to sweat slightly under the amused gaze of Burnout and Contact as the formidable Routine Inspector stepped close, almost into his personal space.  
"And _you."_ She punctuated her words by wagging a stout finger at his face, and he had to resist the urge to flinch. Her glare softened after a moment, and she continued in a gentler voice.  
"Don't you go running yourself ragged, Captain. Getting some rest yourself wouldn't be the worst of ideas. You look _awful_." 

Feeling his face heat up, he went to pull the peak of his cap further over his eyes in an attempt to conceal the lavender blush that was no doubt creeping over his cheeks, only for his hand to meet empty air, and he realized with great embarrassment that he had left it up on the console earlier. His hair was probably a mess, he looked highly unprofessional, oh _lord what must they think of me-_

As he fretted silently, staring a hole in the floor, the others chuckled softly to themselves, and Spotlight stepped up to the elevator doors as they began to slide open. Giving Contact and Burnout a playful glare as she stepped inside, she motioned with her fingers from her eyes to the Captain, and then to each of them in what was recognised as a sign for ' _keep an eye on him, you know what he's like.'_ Then, with a final wave, the doors slid closed, and she was gone.

Taking a moment to press the heels of his hands into his back, Burnout glanced up at contact and gave her a wide grin.  
" _Ah,_ well, at least it's not Roons again, eh?" He laughed as she puffed out her cheeks and let out a huff of air, remembering the chaos of two nights ago only too well. The toadlike creatures had managed to flood part of the lamp with runoff rainwater using the same tubing with which they had once pumped ludicrous amounts of marmalade into Central Command, and her beloved laptop had barely been salvaged.

Stretching one last time, the old forman reached up and settled his hardhat firmly on his head with one decisive movement.

"Right!" He said cheerily, clapping both hands together and startling the Captain out of his spiral of humiliation.  
"Let's head down to the conduit and see what we can see, ey? Take the stairs so we can make a brew on the way past the kitchen" he winked.

He set off jauntily for the corridor that Bright Light had rushed down only half an hour ago, side by side with Contact, already discussing what could have happened to trip the alarm, and Bright Light trailing absently after them looking more than a little lost. Just before he stepped into the corridor he stopped short.  
"Uh, I'll-I'll be right with you, I just... uh, I'll be a moment"

The two shared a bemused glance as their Commanding Officer dashed back inside.

He would never say so out loud, but when Bright Light stepped back out into the corridor, pulling his cap as low over his eyes as he could and resolutely not making eye contact, he was immensely grateful that they didn't say a word.


	2. Chapter 2

Burnout was glad of their detour to the kitchen. Although they had done their best to clean up the mess that the Roons left in their wake, the smell of damp and the steady, maddening sound of water dripping from the ceiling and plinking into the almost-full buckets that were placed at almost every other step somehow made the Lower Levels seem even colder than usual, and even with the heating on full blast, the bracing draft that came rushing through the conduit was impenetrable. Shrugging his shoulders to settle his collar around the back of his neck, he shuddered as the trio continued their descent of the spiralling stone steps. The yellow light of the lamps strung up along the wall revealed the small puddles that had settled as the water receded, and he reminded himself to have Charge come down with a mop and a sand bucket.

Tucking the pleasantly warm flask of tea a little more snugly under his arm as he rounded the final corner, he assessed the state of their Conduit Station. Every lamppost had one, as the Conduit Shuttle was the fastest method of getting from post to post and there were even certain sections of the line that were authorised for public use, which had turned the Conduit into a vital transport system in some more secluded Fae settlements.

It was definitely far colder than normal; the winter chill shouldn't have been this biting indoors no matter what breeze came through the Conduit. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Burnout made his way over to the boarding platform where an empty pod was standing, hatch popped open awaiting use, allowing Brightlight and Contact to trail into the room behind him and shiver in the frigid air.

"I-is there...what's w-wrong?" Brightlight forced out from between his chattering teeth.

Grasping the safety rail tightly, Burnout leaned into the tunnel itself and peered down it's length.

"...Damn it."

Sunlight gleamed at the end of the tunnel. Despite it sounding like an optimistic metaphor, this was actually pretty awful news when there used to be several inches of steel, copper and concrete between you and the light of day.

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder solidly, and turned to see Contact leaning out to follow his gaze down the tunnel, a small frown creasing her brow as she poked her head out from behind his.

"What's the matter? Can you see-"

she stopped herself short, and for a few moments could say nothing as she took in the sight. The station and platform themselves were intact, but only a few (human) feet down the tunnel, the same could not be said.

The cables and wires that ran through the length of the conduit were torn and frayed, twisted together like gnarled branches, and just at the point where the tunnel would curve to the right, sunlight and fresh air were filtering in through an enormous fissure. The concrete had split and crumbled, leaving a gaping hole that leaked the smell of rain and dust, and the chill of early november frost.

She stared, gaping like a fish until the dryness of her tongue reminded her to close her mouth, and fought down the rising urge to just lie down on the wet floor and pretend that the entire week had been a bad dream. That would be nice.

Startled out of her moment of despair by drawn out moan, she turned in time to see Bright Light turn resolutely on his heel with the air of a pixie nearing his limit.

"Don't tell me. I just decided that I don't want to know. I'm going to go get more tea."

Burnout and Contact watched wordlessly as their Captain marched out of the room without a backwards glance, massaging the base of his antenna with both hands. Just as he disappeared from their view, the sound of his footsteps paused.

"Comm me if you want me to bring something stronger."

They shared a look as the sound of his sloshing steps faded away back up the staircase.  
Burnout was the first to look away, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, tilting his head back. Contact took the moment to rub her hands over her own face, grimacing at how much grime she could feel on her skin. When did she last get a chance to shower? When did any of them get a decent night's sleep this past week?

Burnout took a deep breath and held it as he opened his eyes. He watched Contact miserably tuck a strand of lank hair behind her tapered ear, and sighed. 

"I give up, lass." Contact looked up at him sharply  
"I'll comm for help, see if anyone nearby can spare a few hands. You go check on the Captain, take a break, have a cuppa."

She opened her mouth to offer her help, but the lure of a peaceful moment in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea was too powerful. With a quick goodbye to Burnout, who was already busily rummaging in the toolbox he had kicked open, she turned and followed Bright Light's retreat up the stairs.

As she splashed her way through the puddles on every other step, she let her thoughts drift to the comforting possibility of a quick shower before returning to the grind.  
She felt her communicater buzz against her thigh and she fished it out of her pocket, recognizing Burnout's code on the screen as she flipped it open.

"And tell the Captain the Whiskey's on the top shelf behind the cereal. I have a feeling we'll need it."

She couldn't find it in herself to disagree.


End file.
